According to NHL insider Chris Johnston, the Philadelphia Flyers aren’t expected to sit still and will continue to find ways to add and get away from their franchise long playoff drought.
One way the Flyers could look to add is by picking up the phone and working with Anaheim Ducks GM Pat Verbeek – again. If recent reports are to be believed, Verbeek is playing hard ball with his pending RFA, and based on the verbiage of a lot of the trusted insiders, it sounds like Mason McTavish could be available sooner rather than later.
The 22-year-old centre is wanted by plenty of teams, and that probably includes the Flyers. With the trade winds having already blown between the two sides, could a third deal be struck between Verbeek and Daniel Brière, but this time involving McTavish?
As we approach the month of August, there is still no word on an extension being near, in fact there’s a lot more wind about other teams preparing offer sheets or trade offers. It could just be a smoke screen as Verbeek has always been an extremely tough negotiator with his young players coming off ELCs.
Familiarity amongst general managers can always be seen as a good thing and based on the two deals that have already been conducted, it sounds like Verbeek and Brière are on good terms.
Brière quietly traded disgruntled prospect Cutter Gauthier for Jamie Drysdale and a second round pick in the middle of the 2023-24 season before getting a deal done for Trevor Zegras in exchange for Ryan Poehling and 2 draft picks this summer.
Under Verbeek, the Ducks haven’t been known to splurge on their young players, in fact it’s been quite the opposite. Both Drysdale and Zegras went to the limit on their deals post-ELC, with the duo getting 3-year contracts signed in October of 2023. However, that changed with Dostál’s 5-year extension he signed the other day.
The biggest difference between Dostál and McTavish, is that there have been no rumours or indications that the former was disgruntled, upset with certain moves, or even on the block to begin with. Dostál‘s extension does give way to Verbeek changing his ways but it’s sort of a wait and see approach at this stage in regards to McTavish.
Nevertheless, McTavish is likely heading on the same route as Zegras and Drysdale, and it’s no secret that the 22-year-old is disgruntled with his role and how the Ducks have conducted business of late. What’s also on the horizon are post-ELC contracts for Gauthier and Leo Carlsson, who many believe are going to be made higher priorities than McTavish.
Additionally, it’s not only Gauthier and Carlsson the Ducks have to extend next season, as the list includes their future defensive pillars in Jackson LaCombe, Pavel Mintyukov, and Olen Zellwegger. Verbeek has a lot on his plate and the future of his club will be decided within the next 12-14 months.
Trading Zegras was an important move for the Ducks because it essentially gave McTavish runway as a primary top-6 player for years to come. However their addition of Mikael Granlund, who signed a 3-year deal worth $21 million was somewhat questionable, and is the leading cause for the origin of these rumours.
The Flyers have the prospects, the young NHL-ready players, and the draft picks to get a deal done. What’s missing would be salary cap to fit what McTavish’s new deal would look like. Many are speculating that a bridge deal could come in as a 3-year deal worth anywhere between $5 million-$6 million, whereas a longer termed deal would be in the range of 6-7 years with a cap hit of $7 million-$8 million.
The Flyers barely have enough cap space to be considered cap compliant for the new season as is and will have to place Ivan Fedotov on waivers for that to be a reality. Just on the basis of cap hits, the only logical route would be Owen Tippett, who carries a cap hit of $6.2 million and his modified-NTC doesn’t kick in until next season.
For a team in need of centers and with a plethora of wingers, going after McTavish makes sense but it’s anyone’s guess if the Flyers will be willing to part with Tippett, who will be entering the second season of his 8-year contract in 2025-26.
McTavish has scored 60 goals and 140 points through 229 games across parts of 4 seasons. He notched 17 goals and 43 points in 80 games during his rookie season, which was then followed up by 19 goals and 42 points in 64 games, and finally 22 goals and 52 points in 76 games this past season.
In 2024-25, he saw 16:53 ATOI, won 50.7% of his draws, fired 180 shots on goal, and added 6 power play goals along the way. McTavish’s even rating was also tied for fourth best amongst forwards in Anaheim and was a massive step in the right direction after posting plus/minus ratings of -23 and -19 in the previous two seasons, respectively.
His inclusion to the roster would be a massive as he would bolster the Flyers centre depth and immediately play in the top-6 as well as the power play. One of his few knocks is his lack of foot speed as one of the slower players in the league but his skill is undeniable and coming in at 6’1” and 220 pounds, he probably fits the moniker of what the front office is looking for.
It will be something to monitor for the next little bit but a trade is the only likely scenario for the Flyers, unless they want to gamble on their draft picks. An offer sheet would prove to be costly and it’s hard to pinpoint what the right number would be that would push Anaheim away from matching
– Between $4,580,918 – $6,871,374 requires a 2026 first and third round pick
– Between $6,871,375 – $9,161,834 requires a 2026 first, second, and third round pick
Between $9,161,835 – $11,452,294 requires 2 firsts in the next 3 drafts as well as a 2026 second and third round pick
– Above $11,452,295 requires 4 first round picks in the next 5 drafts.
The Ducks currently have slightly over $21 million in cap space to play with and without factoring in McTavish, they are projected to have $57 million next summer. Most of that will go into the aforementioned quintet of RFAs, so for an offer sheet to work on McTavish, you’d have to go way over his projections, which would come in at a high cost towards the cap and future draft picks in a loaded 2026 class.
Nevertheless, a top-6 centre is available and the Flyers have a good standing relationship with the team involved. They won’t be the only ones gearing up for McTavish but it would be a move that signals the changing of the guard in Philadelphia and his arrival would bolster a position of desperate need.
It would require roster players and draft picks, especially to alleviate cap space in order to sign the pending RFA, but the Flyers would be wise to broach the Ducks to test the waters, at the very least. How many Ducks is too many Ducks? Two seems like a good amount but only time will tell if a third player will be added to that equation.
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